Lawyers argue stalking convictions of former officer, businessman should be overturned
Client: Steve Walton, Heather Walton
Charge: Bribery, Harassment
Defence: tension between jurors may have resulted in a compromised verdict
Sentence: awaiting decision
The tension between jurors who convicted a former Calgary police officer and wealthy city businessman of stalking may have resulted in a compromised verdict, lawyers argued before the Alberta Court of Appeal on Thursday.
But Crown prosecutor Brian Graff said the fact the 12-member jury that convicted Steve Walton and Ken Carter of harassing the latter’s former girlfriend also were unable to reach a conclusion involving Walton’s wife showed they stuck to their guns.
A three-member Court of Appeal panel heard arguments from defence lawyers Brian Greenspan, Daniel Song, Alain Hepner and Alias Sanders over a variety of potential grounds to order a new trial.
But much of the focus of the appeal was on a woman referred to as juror No. 7, who was questioned by Justice Glen Poelman in the middle of deliberations.
During deliberations, a male juror addressed Poelman in the absence of other jurors to express concerns about juror No. 7’s potential bias because of previous dealings with private detectives.
But juror No. 7, when questioned separately by the Court of Queen’s Bench judge, said she could remain impartial in deciding the case.
Walton and his wife, Heather, worked as unlicensed private detectives and were hired by Carter to conduct surveillance on Akele Taylor, with whom he shared a child.
The Waltons, who were convicted of bribery charges, used members of the Calgary Police Service to conduct the surveillance.
Song said the fact juror No. 7 was in tears when the verdicts were handed down — finding both Steve Walton and Carter guilty of criminal harassment — showed she may have been pushed to convict against her will.
“Juror No. 4 said that juror No. 7 wouldn’t budge because she was relying on her experience with (private investigators). In my submission, juror No. 7 was a pariah among the jurors. She was questioned on her integrity in public and ultimately she was crying when the verdict was read out,” he said.
“This court can find that there was a reasonable possibility that the instructions (from Poelman) caused her to yield to a view that she didn’t truly hold.”
Added Hepner: “Juror No. 7 coming out in tears is indicative of something.”
The five-woman, seven-man jury also convicted the Waltons on charges of unlawful storage of firearms at their home, ultimately deciding on six of the seven charges before them.
Graff said their inability to reach a consensus on whether Heather Walton harassed Taylor showed they were willing to agree to disagree where necessary.
The appeal judges reserved their decision.
Source: Calgary Herald